Staten Island pitcher Jason Marquis finding his comfort zone

APTottenville HS product Jason Marquis is 5-1 this season for the Washington Nationals.

Jason Marquis found a sweet spot.

Or at least, he had prior to Friday’s shaky five-run, four-inning outing against Baltimore.

The Washington Nationals’ right-hander is off to a 5-1 season start, even after being chased early in what would become a 17-5 Nats’ victory.

The Pleasant Plains resident, who underwent elbow surgery early last season, has already collected seven quality starts this season, and hadn’t walked more than two in any of his nine appearances prior to Friday’s rough go when he surrendered three passes and allowed eight hits.

Still, the 32-year-old feels healthy and strong once again, his ERA is down, his effectiveness up, and last Sunday the two-time Silver Slugger winner (best-hitting pitcher) even cracked a two-RBI double in a win over the Marlins.

Marquis, you could say, has it going on.

And his latest successes continue the building of a pretty impressive career resume. The 11-year big leaguer ranked 30th among active pitchers in victories (101), 32nd (1,597) in innings pitched prior to Friday, and he’s in the final year of a two-year contract that will pay him $15 million by the end of the year.

Sounds like a nice, secure place to be, wouldn’t you say?

"I take it day-to-day," the one-time Tottenville High School star cautioned early this week while the Nats visited the Mets for two games. "But I do feel good right now. I’ve been getting ahead of hitters and throwing quality strikes. That definitely makes you comfortable."

RIGHT DIRECTION

Marquis also likes the idea of being with an organization stocking up on high draft choices and one that he believes is headed in the right direction; that, as opposed to his stumbling hometown Mets, who passed on Marquis following some preliminary discussions during his 2009 free agency period.

And being in Washington, a short ride from wife Debbie and their three young children, is a definite extra bonus.

It affords Marquis the opportunity for moments like last Tuesday, when a day-game rainout in D.C. allowed the one-time first-round choice of the Atlanta Braves to hop a train to New York and be at his daughter’s school in time to make a surprise pick-up at dismissal.

"Things like that are fun," he said of the unannounced appearance at the schoolhouse door. "I could see myself staying here if that’s the way things work out."

Of course the world wouldn’t look quite so rosy if this winter’s Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame inductee hadn’t rebounded so quickly from last year’s surgery.

Marquis went under the knife in May to have bone chips removed, and came back in August, finishing the year 2-9 despite a handful of solid late-season starts.

While the Islander insists he had regained his pitching confidence by the end of the 2010 season, it’s difficult to know for sure how a recently repaired arm will respond to its first off-season and the following spring training.

"I didn’t do anything different than I’ve been doing since I was 17," Marquis said of his off-season preparation. "There’s always the mental side of wondering if the stuff is going to be there when you get back to it again, but it’s been really good."

Drafted out of high school in 1996 as a power pitcher, Marquis feels he became a genuine big league starter following a 2004 trade to the Cardinals.

"That’s when I learned to sacrifice some velocity to stay healthy," said the durable 210-pounder. "I’ve never been afraid of change and I made the adjustment of throwing the ball 90-percent as hard and being able to make 33 starts, rather than throwing 100-percent and not knowing what was going to happen."

VETERAN’S WISDOM

The adjustment in approach and execution worked wonders.

For the next six seasons, Marquis made a minimum of 29 starts and won at least 11 games.

That’s a rare run, indeed, at the major league level.

"As a young player, it’s important to learn more all the time about who you are and about the game," he said of the transformation. "That’s how you improve. Pitching is a game of cat-and-mouse. The quicker you understand that, the better you will be."

That sort of thoughtfulness is one reason the youth-stacked Nationals signed Marquis. He, along with Livan Hernandez, are seen as veteran anchors for a rotation that was supposed to include injured 22-year-old phenom Stephen Strasburg, along with Jordan Zimmerman (25), John Lannan (26) and 28-year-old Tom Gorzelanny.

Marquis is convinced Strasburg’s return in 2012 will infuse the Nats staff with superstar power.

"He’s that good," Marquis insisted. "The physical and mental tools are all there, and you don’t see that in someone his age."

How long does the best pitcher ever to come off Staten Island hope to continue playing the game?

The short answer is who knows?

"A lot of guys say ‘They’ll have to tear the uniform off my back,’" Marquis smiled. "I don’t say that. There are things more important than baseball: family for starters. But I do still love it. I still get that nervous excitement before I pitch, and I know I won’t be able to get that anyplace else.